Board games are known in the prior art, including board games which relate to play simulating financial transactions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,185,890 to Trivedi discloses a method and apparatus for playing a stock trading simulation game with a focus on simulating the benefits and pitfalls of bidding and speculation in financial instruments and discloses a feature whereby a player takes a hidden turn and an open turn in game play. See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,076 to Fikki entitled “Investment board game and method of playing same.” U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,886 to Moran entitled “Board game based on stock market concepts” discloses a board game which discloses an educational purpose. The applicant's expired U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,189 entitled “Board game apparatus” discloses a board game simulating and teaching investment in a game economy.
The current disclosure incorporates some of the ideas and principles of the applicant's '189 Patent and adds new and patentability distinct and novel subject matter as described below. With the emergence of the computer and digital technology, electronic games have become popular and are known in the prior art. Electronic games are available which entertain and/or educate players via their multi-media content.
The applicant has invented and discloses herein an entertaining and educational computer-implemented interactive game and game playing method that are closely representative of a real-world equities marketplace. The applicant is not aware of prior art directed to an electronic entertaining and educational interactive multiplayer game directed to financial investment and trading. While the game universe of the disclosed game is fairly elaborate and complex and rich with features of a real-life trading scenario, the player interface is simple and player-friendly owing to the power of software code which pre-defines the complex elements of the game economy universe. Again, thanks to the power of the computer, each game play iteration can be executed with relative speed. The speed with which a play iteration may be executed promotes faster learning and familiarization with economic principles and conduct of entities in the game economy.